Riding the Waves Book 3: Stemming the Tide
by jeychen5
Summary: The last few months at Camp Half-Blood have been blissfully routine… until Rachel gives a prophecy to the most unlikely child of Aphrodite. Now Kai must accompany her companions to take up the dangerous quest to save the camp before they are destroyed by a new threat—a mysterious giant and his monstrous army. Can Kai accept her role in the prophecy, or will she reject her destiny?
1. Chapter 1 - WHO got a quest?

You want to know one of the worst things about being a demigod? The nightmares.

Sure, there's being chased by hungry monsters, nearly dying on multiple occasions, and the resentment I feel towards Poseidon for crushing my chances at a normal life, but between all of that pleasantness are the nightmares.

By now, I was pretty used to bad dreams. They were usually vague but terrifying—the camp in flames, the mortal world collapsing. Y'know, standard stuff like that.

Oftentimes I had dreams from my best friend Hayden's life, reliving every third life-or-death experience she'd ever face, along with emotions I never quite understood, and memories of our friendship I nearly forgotten.

Let me explain that if that made no sense.

Long story short: my best friend Hayden died trying to protect me after we were hunted down by our crazy Social Studies teacher (a longer story on top of this long story) who, as far as I could figure, was working for Gaea. After Hayden's funeral, her mother, the goddess Thetis, gave me a gift: the ability to run incredibly fast.

Hayden was gone, and I wanted to experience life for the two of us. For that I had to survive, and that's part of why I agreed to let Thetis give me power. But the power came with the price of experiencing some of Hayden's thoughts and memories. Some were pretty nice, some made me incredibly sad, but a lot were scary. Almost all of them were painful to see. I experienced Hayden's memories first person through my dreams.

But this night was different.

The first thing I noticed was that it was bone-chillingly cold, cold enough to see my own breath…if I could see. I was surrounded in pitch-black darkness. I was never really afraid of the dark, but being wherever I was made my throat close up. I wanted to bolt, but knowing me, I'd run smack-dab into a wall and concuss myself like only a true hero would do.

I reached out, trying to feel around for a wall. What I found surprised me. It was a wall, but it was rough and moist, like uneven gravel after a light rain. I waited for my eyesight to adjust, and slowly I realized that I was in the middle of a cave. The passageways in front of and behind me went on forever and were swallowed into darkness. I heard a soft roar, which at first I thought was the roar of blood in my ears, but the sound was higher pitched and manic, almost like laughter from a large crowd. And it was growing louder.

Ice crawled up my spine. I ran away from the noise down the tunnel, keeping one hand on the wall, but the noise kept getting louder. I tried to backtrack, but there was a wall of solid earth where I'd previously been that wasn't there before. I was forced to either stay put or go forward, and I didn't want my back against the wall when whatever was laughing found me.

I kept moving forward, turning down corridors hoping to find a way back, but no matter how many times I turned, I never seemed to be able to distance myself from the noise. It was almost as if the cave was alive and was forcing me towards the source of the laughter…

Another chill ran through my veins. That idea was too horrifying to dwell on, even in a dream.

I kept walking for minutes, maybe even hours, on end. It was impossible for me to tell. Suddenly, my foot slipped from under me and I almost fell down a ledge I didn't see that dropped down into a vast, dark cavern.

I bit back a yelp.

Down in the cavern, a dark humanoid figure was stuck halfway in the ground. Only its torso, head, and upper arms were visible. Even so, I could tell that this thing was huge—it was already twice my size. It was slowly rising from the ground, as if the earth were pushing it up while molding it from the top down. And if that wasn't already terrifying enough, this thing had four arms, two protruding from each shoulder. It'd be almost comical, but those arms were big and beefy, like a body builder who was halfway through letting himself go.

There was worse news. Dozens upon dozens of creatures with huge bat-like wings were all congregated at the bottom, laughing and cheering. Small fights broke out in groups here and there; the creatures clawed at each other until they were both reduced to a pile of ashes. More were rising from the ground in wisps of black smoke and solidifying. I noticed that some had horns like the Minotaur's, while others had tusk like a rhino or elephant. Thankfully, it was too dark to see them too clearly.

So far, none of them noticed me. As I watched in horror, I began to notice the _thump, thump, thump_ of vibrations slowly growing beneath my feet, resonating through the ground. It grew louder and stabilized, almost like a—

I stepped back quickly, but stumbled and fell flat on my butt with a yelp. I realized that that thing was—

Two blue eyes shot open on the giant figure's face. The sclera and irises were all unnatural shades of blue. Its pupils, which were a slightly darker shade of blue, were horribly jagged and misshapen.

The eyes fixed themselves on me and my heart dropped beating. A fanged smile slowly spread onto the face; evil gleamed in those awful eyes.

* * *

I woke abruptly. My ears were ringing and my heart was beating like it was trying to make up for lost time.

Dull morning light slipped past the slits on the closed blinds and hit me in the face. Monsters howled in the woods. The familiar scent of the ocean breeze wafted through my room, which helped me calm down.

I rolled to my back and tried to steady my heart by taking deep breaths. Celestial bronze Hippocampi danced in a circle on the ceiling, the craftsmanship of my half-brother, Tyson.

I sighed, and forced myself out of bed to get ready for the day. I went to breakfast as usual, but my dream was still on my mind. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Annabeth told me that sometimes demigods had dreams of the past and present. But was that what was happening? How could I tell? I never had a dream like that before. I wanted to ask Annabeth since she was the best person to help me figure this out, but she wasn't at breakfast that morning. She was on another search mission for Percy and was supposed to be back sometime the tomorrow. I didn't want to bother her now if my dream turned out to be trivial.

So I tried to go about my day normally. After a morning of swordplay and monster fighting techniques, I gathered my reading materials and headed to Bunker Nine.

* * *

It's been three months since Leo and cabin nine started building the Argo II, and even in its half finished state it already was amazing to behold. It stood large and gleaming in the middle of Bunker Nine. I could already tell that it would be imposing as soon as it was done.

It was hard to believe that March was nearly over already. Time flies when you're building a spanking hot war machine, I guess. I didn't keep track of time all that well when I was at camp. My own birthday almost snuck up on me, and I only noticed it was coming when Valentine's Day rolled around and the Aphrodite cabin was more rowdy than usual. I hid from them in Bunker Nine.

I've been coming to Bunker Nine about every other day since January, teaching Leo Greek stories, relaying messages between the bunker and camp for those too cheap to shell out the drachma to send an Iris Message, and retrieving tools that were too big or too specific for Leo's fanny pa—tool belt. I wasn't part of the Seven, and I couldn't build anything to save my life, so teaching Leo when he didn't get to go to class like the other campers was my way of contributing. That was true, but I'd be lying if I said that was the only reason I went there often.

Oh, like _you_ never had ulterior motives before.

Today, I was reading Leo the story of Echo, but my heart wasn't into it. If I sounded off, Leo didn't seem to notice. He was testing the Wii remote's control on the ship's sails. Please don't ask me why he connected a Wii remote to his warship. Leo was weird. He didn't think about things the way others did.

He shook the remote manically and the sails began to rise, but stalled halfway like something was stuck in the gears. Leo swore and shook the control faster, like how you'd hit a button on a remote harder, as if that stops the batteries from being dead.

"Y'know," I said drily, "you should really wear a wrist strap when you're doing that."

"Do I look like the kind of guy who needs the wrist strap?" Leo asked.

" _Yup_."

Leo shook his head, like _I can't believe this chick_. "Just because _you_ smashed the window in the Big House doesn't mean that the rest of us can't handle our Wii remotes."

I blushed. "It wasn't that bad…"

"You nailed two satyrs in the head with the remote."

So here's weird story: Leo and I were playing Smash Brothers in the rec room and Leo was _totally_ cheating, I swear. I may or may not have gotten a little too into it and sent the Wii remote flying through the window were it ricocheted off of a poor satyr's head and hit another one in the face.

I grimaced at the memory. "Okay. Maybe it was that bad."

Leo laughed and placed the Wii remote on Buford the table. He gave Buford an affectionate pat, pulled a screwdriver out of his _tool belt_ , and began working on the sails. He worked fluidly, as if fixing machines was second nature to him, which it was since he was a son of Hephaestus.

Leo tried to teach me a little bit about machines before, but he might as well have been trying to teach me rocket surgery or brain science, for all I understood. Every time he explained something to me in his technobabble, my eyes would glaze over and I would go "uh huh" and nod a lot. Not much different from what I did in school, actually. He'd just face palmed himself and muttered to himself in Spanish.

(I still don't know Spanish swear words, btw.)

He did, however, teach me some Morse code, so I was able to ask _you okay_ and say _love you_. I tried not to let him see how hard I was blushing, to questionable success.

Anyway, looking at the Argo II, I couldn't help but think that June was less than two months away. I never liked thinking about it much. It was much easier to pretend that time was static, and Leo and his siblings were building the Argo II for fun instead of because Mother Earth was raising her most horrible children, the giants, to destroy the gods, and if the Seven didn't stop her from waking, the world would end and everyone I knew and loved would die.

Speaking of loved ones, there were still no signs of Percy after all of these months. I've tried contacting Percy through Iris Messages a couple times just to see if I could get through. I never did. I went with Annabeth on a trip to the city to visit Percy's mom and Mr. Blowfis. There was a lot of crying and hugging all around. Mrs. Jackson's stomach was a little upset. Percy being gone so long was taking its toll on her.

No one else was having any luck trying to find him, either. The Pegasi were still being used to look for him. I've seen Tyson twice since I met him back when Percy first went missing. The poor guy still burst into tears, though I really couldn't blame him. I've met Thalia and her hunters when they came to camp to meet up with Annabeth and Jason. Thalia reminded me of Hayden; they liked the same kind of music and clothes. I've checked up on Nico a few times who coincidently/ironically looked like the dead. I could tell he wasn't getting enough sleep. Percy's satyr friend, Grover, had contacts with nature spirits all over the country, but none of them have seen any trace of Percy.

Annabeth was as determined as ever to find him, but she was becoming more and more distressed with each passing day. She almost always looked exhausted and didn't comb her hair as often. I tried to cheer her up by saying that maybe Percy was already at the Roman camp, but I don't know if she believed me or not. I don't know if I believed me or not.

* * *

During the day, campers old and new were trickling into camp from the mortal world. It was Spring Break for most schools, so I was expecting the camp to at least triple in size. I heard that even Rachel Dare, our Oracle of Delphi, showed up sometime during the afternoon.

My friend, Lacy, hadn't showed up yet, and I was a little worried. I was heading to the dining pavilion for dinner when I was glomped from behind.

"Oh my gods, Kaia!" my attacker squealed. "I like your hair."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thanks, Lace."

Lacy turned to me with a big braces grin on her face. We stood in the green as some other campers passed us and started catching up since we saw each other last in January. Lacy was telling me about her friends from her school in Brookline, and I was filling her in on my birthday (minus some _unnecessary_ parts…). She was drilling me for all the details about how I spent Valentine's Day at camp. When I told her the truth, she just scoffed at me.

"Gods, Kaia!" Lacy groaned, but was smiling. "You don't have a romantic bone in your body."

"No surprise there," a familiar voice said behind us.

It was none other than Drew Tanaka. She had the same stupid make up, the same stupid jewelry, and the same stupid smug face. She stood behind us with some of her siblings from the Aphrodite cabin who didn't much like me, their arms crossed. Lacy, probably on instinct, took a step behind me.

I rolled my eyes. "Hello, Drew. How nice to see you."

"Hmm." She looked me up and down and shook her head in disapproval. "You look worse since I saw you last. Did your scalp start sprouting seaweed instead of actual _hair_?"

Drew and her cronies started to laugh.

"Very funny, Drew," I said. "You're a regular Rob Schneider."

She frowned. "Whatever, _Kaia_." She said my name like it was the worst insult anyone could possibly call someone. "You're just a…"

No doubt Drew was calling me all sorts of names, but at that moment a big group of campers came across the green and I spotted Leo among them, talking to Jason and Piper (I think I had Leo senses or something because I was could always pick him out in a crowd.). Piper was cracking up at something he just said and Jason just shook his head like, _I can't believe you just said that_.

Drew stopped berating me when she realized that she no longer had my attention. Her gaze drifted towards the group I was staring at, then back at me. She smirked.

"Oh. I see."

I frowned. "You see what, Drew?"

"No wonder you're acting so dumb, well, dumber than usual." She turned to her minions and clasped her hands."How sweet!" She crowed in faux pride. "Our little Kaia is in love."

They started laughing. For once, I was totally speechless. Some of the campers overheard Drew as they passed us and started snickering under their breath. Lacy looked at me sympathetically.

I clenched my fist, trying not to punch Drew's teeth in. Stupid child-of-Aphrodite powers! I wanted to call Drew something so bad that Chiron would punish me by having my mouth washed out with soap for a month, but I couldn't speak. Under normal circumstances I would, but when it came to the subject of guys, my brain became a cloud of farts and I could no longer act like a rational teenage girl ( _cough_ ). And Drew mocking me about my feelings made it worse.

That's one of the worse things about Drew Tanaka. Even without Charmspeak, she knew exactly how to get under my skin and push all of my buttons. She knew what angle was best to attack and pulled no punches.

"Oh that's rich!" Drew wiped a tear from her face and turned scanned crowd. "So… who is the unlucky guy?"

Lacy spoke up. "You know Drew, maybe you shouldn't—"

Drew shot her a glare. Lacy's mouth snapped shut.

"I bet," she went on, "it's someone utterly repulsive, like Clovis, or maybe—"

"Drew." Piper interrupted, like a guardian angel. She nodded at Jason and Leo to continue to go on without her. I thought I saw Leo's eyes linger on me for a second with a look of concern, but it was probably my rational teenage girl imagination running away from me.

"What are you up to, Drew?" Piper asked.

"We were just catching up," Drew said quickly. "Right girls?"

Drew's followers nodded and agreed like trained little dogs. Female dogs, specifically.

Piper looked like she didn't buy it. "Well, I believe you're not causing trouble. Because you wouldn't want to be on garbage patrol for the whole week, right?"

Drew gulped, nodded, and headed towards the dining pavilion, her lackeys following in silence.

I looked at Piper gratefully as Lacy greeted her with a hug. "Can you teach me how to shut her up like that, or is that just a child of Aphrodite thing?"

Piper laughed and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't let Drew get to you. She'll only be here for a week."

"A lot of things can happen in a week," I mumbled as we headed to the pavilion. "Like I can kill her in a week."

* * *

Dinner was good, but lonely at the Poseidon table. That wasn't anything new, but I still felt exposed during dinner, like at any moment there would be a spotlight on me and an announcer's voice would shout, "And in this corner, from Honolulu, weighing in as something laughable I'm sure, The Lonely Loser Who Shouldn't Have Been Born!" But dinner was just a delicious speed bump in the way of the real fun: the campfire.

I sat with Leo, Nyssa, and the rest of cabin nine. Jason and Piper were off together, holding hands and having some real sweet couple time, Will was singing with his siblings about all the bottles of ambrosia on the wall, Lou Ellen sat in front in case Rachel had a prophetic episode and needed to be caught before she fell. Lacy would have sat with us, but Drew pulled her to sit with Drew's group instead, and give me the stink eye. I returned the gesture, along with a little hand gesture featuring my favorite finger. At least Lacy got to sit with Mitchell, another nice Aphrodite kid.

I tried to have fun and joke around, but it wasn't easy when I could hear snippets of Drew's conversation behind my back, still talking about me and which guy my ugliness was most compatible with.

I wanted to toss melted marshmallows in her perfect hair and see her have to chop it all off when she couldn't wash them out, but that would get me dish washing duty for a week (been there, done that, no thanks). Besides, that'd be a waste of delicious marshmallows.

So I did my best to ignore her.

Leo was funny as usual; he'd say something ridiculously hilarious/hilariously inappropriate and I'd burst out laughing and hit him playfully in the arm. We did this most nights; it gave me something to look forward to during the long slog that is dinner at table three.

The Apollo cabin finished the song and the camp cheered, the bonfire flames turning a vibrant shade of green, my favorite color. The Apollo camper strummed their guitars and Lyres and began their next song, _This land was Minos's land_.

"Spoiler alert," Leo muttered. "All the land was Minos's land."

I chuckled at that. As the Apollo cabin sang the song, I overheard one of Drew's friends say, "…maybe it's that Valdez guy?"

I froze.

"Oh, puh-lease," I heard Drew say. "Even that grease monkey is way too good for her."

My fist clenched. I turned and glared at Drew. She smiled back at me, like she'd just won some stupid game.

I probably would have called her something fairly appropriate—like a skunk bag or something— and punch her in stomach, if someone in the crowd hadn't gasped loudly enough and got everyone's attention.

Up front, Rachel Dare was bent over as if she'd just been socked in the gut. One of the Apollo kids reach out to make sure she was okay, but then Rachel shot up and stood stiff as a board. She fixed her toxic green eyes directly on a spot above my head, and my stomach dropped. I looked to see what Rachel was looking at, and was rendered speechless for the second time today. Rachel—the Oracle—was staring at Drew Tanaka.

Everyone around Drew scooted three feet away from, as if they'd just learned that Drew had some kind of disease. As for Drew, she looked so thoroughly stunned that she didn't speak or move.

Through Rachel, the Oracle spoke:

 _"You shall sail south towards the land in full bloom  
Destroy twins' bane to halt impending doom  
Spirits of slaughter and battle you must brave  
And marauders at sea, their flag of bones wave  
Companioned by the daughters of sea and war  
And the elder god's child shall be no more." _

The glow faded and Rachel collapsed, but Lou and a few others caught her before she hit the ground. They sat her upright again and, fanning her and giving her some water to drink.

Everyone was silent for a beat, staring from Drew to Rachel to me before erupting into a roar of a dozen campers talking over each other and asking a million questions. Chiron was trying to calm everyone down, but I didn't hear any of them.

I stared at the bonfire as it sputtered and grew with the nervous energy of the camp. Even though it was spring and the camp had weather controlled boarders, I felt as if the air dropped ten degrees. My head was spinning. I could barely form a coherent thought.

But three things were clear to me: Drew Tanaka was just giveb a quest, I was destined to join her, and I was destined to die.


	2. Chapter 2 - Chthulu vs Clarisse

Surprisingly, I didn't get much sleep that night.

You'd think after hearing a big prophecy that predicted my death, I'd be out like a light, but nope. I just stared dumbfounded at the ceiling trying to make sense of it all. Bits and pieces of the prophecy Rachel spoke repeated themselves over and over again; the twins' bane, a flag of bones, spirits of slaughter; how did it all fit together? Why did _Drew_ of all people get the prophecy, and why was _I_ supposed to join her? I was clearly the daughter of sea, and there was another daughter of war that was meant to go with us. Part of me hoped that it was Annabeth. At least with Annabeth, someone would know what they were doing, but she still hadn't returned to camp yet. Besides, that line was vague enough to apply to daughter of a war god.

I couldn't help but think that the prophecy and the dream I had the night before were somehow connected. I mean, I have a creepy dream the same day Drew gets a prophecy? The Fates were basically spelling it out for us. I'd insulted if I weren't so scared.

Questions kept tumbling around in my head like a brick in a dryer until I finally fell asleep. Six minutes later, I awoke feeling just as confused as I had before, now with the added bonus of being groggy. Breakfast was a drag; my Froot Loops tasted like cardboard. Immediately after, the cabin counselors—plus Drew—met up in the rec room to discuss the prophecy.

It was the same as before: we all sat around the ping pong table with snacks and diet cokes (ew). Clarisse had her boots up on the table and was throwing knives at the dart board. Leo was fiddling with bits of metal like he sometimes did when he was anxious. Lou Ellen and the Stoll brothers were annoying Miranda Gardiner from the Demeter cabin by magically stealing her ears and playing keep-a-way.

I spotted Annabeth at the head of the table, twirling her dagger around on the table top. I sighed and felt as if a bit of weight was lifted off of my shoulders. If anyone could help us figure this out, it was Annabeth.

When she saw me, she nodded to acknowledge me but otherwise remained quiet. Her face looked grim and her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed. She looked like she barely got any sleep over the last few days.

Next to Annabeth sat Chiron in wheelchair form. Even Rachel was present. She forced a reassuring grin when she noticed me.

For some reason, no one seemed eager to start the meeting. Someone coughed awkwardly.

"Sooo…" Leo started.

"I had a dream the other night," I blurted out.

Everyone's attention was now on me, which under normal circumstances wouldn't have bothered me. I squirmed in my seat.

"And why," Drew said, "does that matter."

I tried not to stick my tongue out at her. "Because I think it might related to the prophecy."

I explained my nightmare from beginning to the end. I tried to speak evenly so I wouldn't let on that the dream still creep me out.

Everyone was silent for a moment after I finished. Rachel was the first to speak up. "A giant being reborn from the earth…" She turned to Annabeth. "Do… do you think that it could it be Antaeus?"

Annabeth looked pained, like the name brought back bad memories. "Maybe, but I'm not so sure. Giants can only be killed by a combination of gods and demigods, so why would Gaea raise a giant who can be killed more easily, uh, comparatively speaking?"

"The prophecy said _destroy twins' bane_ ," Lou Ellen recalled. She was wearing Miranda's ears like ear earrings now. "That's means the giant, right? Maybe he can be killed without the gods help."

Clarisse La Rue, the head counselor of cabin five, tossed a snausage over to Seymour—the living decapitated leopard head mounted on the wall—who happily snatched it up. "It's not saying that he _will be killed_ , just that we have to _to halt impending doom_. If we do need the gods, then I don't see how that would even be possible."

Uneasy glances and some muttering were exchanged all around.

Annabeth looked like she was deep in thought, her stormy eyes almost black. "The twins' bane sounds like it refers to Artemis and Apollo." She looked at Will. "Do you have any idea who this bane might be?"

Will thought about it for a moment. "Maybe it's Orion? He was made to oppose Apollo and Artemis."

"Orion was a much smaller giant than his brethren," Chiron said, "only about ten feet, and could pass for an extremely tall human man, but the giant in Kaia's dream sounds at least twice as big."

That info didn't exactly sit well in my stomach.

" _You shall sail south towards the land in full bloom_ ," Jason recalled. "A place south of here with flowers? That could be anywhere."

"There are a lot of places with notable flowers south of New York," Miranda Gardiner said, rubbing her newly reattached ears. "But if I had to guess where you need to sail to, then I'd say Florida would be the place to go. Florida is notable for the beautiful flowers during springtime."

"You would know all about that" Connor muttered, rubbing his arm like he was hit.

Miranda blushed. "Shut up!"

"So we sail to Florida and check every single cave until we find this giant's army?" Drew asked. "There's got to be a better way to find them."

I looked to Annabeth. "Didn't you rebuild that video shield? Couldn't we use that to find the giant?"

She shook her head. "Not if they're underground, like in your dream. The video shield only works if it's hit by natural light. But there's another problem. The Sea of Monsters."

Uncomfortable silence settled over everyone. Seymour the leopard let out a toothy yawn.

"If we're going through the Sea of Monster," Clarisse said casually, "then we'll need a better ship than the CSS Birmingham."

Drew raised a brow. " _We_ , Clarisse?"

"Well, of course. I'm going on this quest."

Drew's eye twitched. "Wait just a second. What makes you think you're going on _my_ quest?"

"You need a daughter of war to go with you on this quest, right? I'm a child of Ares, volunteering to go on this quest. I'm not going to sit here at camp and do nothing, especially if _you're_ leading the quest. You'll need me."

"No, I don't! That line of the prophecy could easily mean a child of Athena, or a child of Enyo, or something. It could be anyone else."

The other counselors and Chiron were mumbling and nodding in agreement. I couldn't help but agree with Drew. The daughter of war didn't have to be a child of Ares. Even Clarisse looked almost convinced enough to reconsider.

Drew smirked, and I felt like something was wrong. It was only when I noticed Piper glaring at Drew did I realized that she used charmspeak on everyone. Again.

"Drew," Piper said, her voice cutting through my clouded thoughts, "maybe you should reconsider. Clarisse is one of the most experienced campers here, and she's been through the Sea of Monsters before. She'll be a big help on your first quest."

Drew looked like she want to argue, but everyone was nodding and agreeing with Piper's idea.

I didn't get why Drew was so against Clarisse joining us anyway—she was scary enough to make most monsters run crying to their mamas. I've heard stories from other campers that describe her as a one woman army, annihilating monster armies without even any armor. And we needed all the help we could get.

"Fine," Drew conceded. "Whatever. You can come."

Clarisse grunted, satisfied.

"Wait a minute," Leo said apprehensively. He was so uncharacteristically silent until now. "Didn't the prophecy say something about marauders? Those are, like, pirates or something?"

"Leo has a point," Jason said. "If they have to face pirates, maybe the sea isn't the safest place."

"We don't have a better option," I said. "Over land is way too dangerous. The Pegasi are fast, but they aren't meant for long, three people quest. The sea is the safest route."

The same way sticking a fork in an electrical socket is safer than, say, wearing a meat dress and jumping into a lions' den.

Annabeth sheathed her dagger. "Well that settles who's going, where, and how, but we don't know who this giant is or what daemons are serving him. I don't like the three of you going in blind. If only we had more time…"

My stomach sank when she said that. It didn't look like time was something I had much of left.

I noticed that everyone was trying not to stare at me. No one was bringing up the last line, which was fine by me. I didn't feel like discussing my death. Still, I couldn't help but feel terrified and embarrassed.

"That settles it then," Chiron said like he just decided on what flowers to put on my casket. "Drew will lead Kaia and Clarisse. I advise you three to prepared and pack. Tonight, you will begin your quest.

* * *

I tried to do some research on who this giant might be, or what kind of daemons we were facing, but I found next to little useful information. I sucked at research; I was never good at it in school and doing research always made me feel stressed out.

I swung my legs over the edge of my bed and ran my fingers through my hair. Hopelessness was filling up my lungs, making it hard to breathe. I imagined that was what it was like to drown.

My eyes scanned the piles of books and scrolls on my bed. I was tempted to throw it all on the floor in frustration, but instead I hopped off and decided to go down to the lake to get some fresh air.

I sunk to the deck, swirling my bare feet around in the cool water. I was supposed to be packing, but packing for a quest when you know you're gonna die wasn't as fun as it sounds.

Staring at the water, I couldn't help but think about the last time I was here when I thought I was going to die. That time I had Hayden. And in that case, the circumstance was that I _might_ die, this time around it was looking pretty final. Whether we saved the camp or not, I was doomed. It felt as if there was an elephant standing on my chest, slowly crushing me.

If, for some reason, the line of the prophecy didn't refer to me, then I just felt worse. Could it mean Percy? I doubted it. Even if we ran into each other during the quest, Percy had the Curse of Achilles. He was pretty hard to kill. I, on the other hand, was not.

I remembered a story Percy told me Titan's curse. That prophecy predicted two deaths, but they all went anyway, knowing that any one of them could die. I wasn't nearly that brave. Right then, I wanted to talk to Percy more than anyone else. Maybe I could get some big brotherly advice on not dying. He always seemed to be good at that even before he took a dip in the Styx.

I kept repeating the prophecy over and over again in my mind, trying to figure out different interpretations. The line about _impending doom_ stood out to me. Everyone assumed that it referred to the giant and his army destroying camp, but something was gnawing in the back of my head, telling me that maybe it meant something else—

"EARTH TO KAAAI-UUUUUH!"

I jumped so suddenly I almost fell into the lake.

I turned to see Will, Lou Ellen, Nyssa, and Lacy were coming down the dock.

I forced a grin. "Howzit, guys?"

They all sat down on the pier around me. Lacy tackled me with a hug. She sniffed like she was trying not to cry.

I patted her back. "Uh, is everything okay?"

" _We're_ fine," Nyssa said. "How... How are you?"

"I'm okay."

"Liar," Will said.

"And you're Captain Metal Detector?" I said, trying for a joke. No one laughed.

Lacy hit my arm. "Be serious!"

I sighed. "Sorry, sorry. It's just... This was..."

"We get it," Nyssa said sympathetically. "That's why we're here."

She pushed forward some items I didn't notice them carrying; a baggie of Ambrosia, a thermos of Nectar, and a few golden drachmas.

"We gathered some supplies for you," Will said. "Thought it might help."

I stared down at the supplies. I felt speechless. " Guys… I don't know what to say. "

"'Thank you' is a good place to start."

I made a face at him. "Thank you guys. Seriously. You don't know what this means to me."

Lou Ellen gasped excitedly. "I almost forgot! This is for you."

Seemingly out of nowhere, she pulled out Hayden's lavender bag and handed it to me nonchalantly.

My eyes darted between Lou and the bag. "How did you get this?"

She rubbed her arm embarrassingly. "Well I–"

"She stole it," Lacy said bluntly.

"You gotta stop hanging around the Hermes cabin," I told Lou. "They're a bad influence."

"I had a good reason!" She grabbed the bag. "Watch this."

With a snap of her fingers, the lavender satchel morphed into a backpack.

Lou Ellen grinned, a speck of crazy light twinkled in her eyes. "This bag has some insane magic. You could fit the entire camp in there three times over. Oh, and check this out!" She grabbed the backpack and hurled it into the lake like a discus.

My jaw hit the deck. "Lou, what the fu—"

She held up a finger. "Wait for it…"

A moment passed. Suddenly, the back pack appeared on my back.

I gasped. "Witchcraft and sorcery!"

Lou stuck her tongue out at me. "Har-dee-har! Have some respect, it was hard to do this."

I laughed, running my hand through my hair. "Guys. I—thank you."

My friends all smiled at me, but I saw the look in their eyes. They were scared, too. For me, for themselves, for the camp. They were counting on me. I couldn't fail them.

Still, the pain in my chest lessened with my friends here with me. I was still scared and overwhelmed, but now I felt a little more confident and at peace.

* * *

After dinner, it was time to grab our things and go. I had everything I needed in my backpack; a change of clothes, the supplies from my friends, and some mortal money that I saved from my birthday cards. Achilles' shield was on my back, and my sword hung at my hips.

With the exception of Annabeth and Chiron, the whole camp was at the bonfire. I tried not to be bitter or think that I'd probably never attend another one again.

I wanted to at least say goodbye to Leo before I went, but I hadn't seen him since the meeting. Maybe it was better that way. If I confessed any hidden feelings I may or may not have for him, he'd most likely reject me, and I'd survive the quest and have to live in awk-weirdness and embarrassment for the rest of my life.

Drew and Chiron were down by the shore having a conversation. Their words were drowned out by the sound of the waves, but I knew he was probably giving her some wise, sagely advice about her leading her first quest.

Clarisse was already aboard, getting ready to sail. She was the only one excited to go on our little death quest.

I stood with Annabeth saying our goodbyes. I yawned and Annabeth smiled sympathetically at me.

"No sleep last night, huh?" she asked.

"Nah. Too excited" I grinned half-heartily, the sighed as it immediately fell. "Annabeth. I... We're going up against a giant and his army of daemons, just the three of us. And the prophecy says–"

"Prophecies are never straightforward," she insisted. "Trying to change it will result in it coming true anyway."

"Loving this pep talk."

"Kaia, I'm sorry. I didn't expect Gaea to attack directly, at least not so obviously and so soon. Unless…"

Annabeth trailed off. I stared at her, practically seeing the gears turning in her head.

"That's your thinking face," I said. "Unless what?"

"The line _impending doom_ bothers me. What if that's not referring to the giant and his army? What if that means Gaea's ultimate plan to have the giants destroy the gods at their roots in Greece?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. You, Drew, and Clarisse stop the giant, but that won't stop Gaea in the end. The seven will still have to go to Greece to stop Gaea and the giants. You fail and the camp is destroyed? Great. If not? No problem. Things will carry on as planned. Gaea has nothing to lose in this. It's a Sisyphean labor."

"So basically Gaea is screwing with us." I balled my hand into a fist. I wanted to go find Gaea myself and end this once and for all. I wanted to hit something, someone, anything. Gaea was taunting us, putting my home and my friends in danger. The threat of the Gaea and the giants never felts so real to me before that moment. I was scared. But I was also very, very angry.

I noticed my sword was growing warm at my hip.

"It doesn't matter," I said trying to sound confident. "I gotta kill that giant. No matter what."

Annabeth nodded, but her face was unreadable. "I believe I know who can help you with that."

"Who?"

"The Party Ponies."

"Chiron's cousins? You think they'd want to help? The last time they helped us a lot of them were killed. I know they're monsters and all, but being killed probably isn't fun."

She shrugged almost helplessly. "It's worth a shot. You'll need strength in numbers."

I didn't have a better idea. "Thank you, Annabeth. Wish me luck."

We hugged. I gave her a brave smile and watched as she headed back towards the campfire.

I shouldered my backpack and was about to get ready to climb aboard, when someone called my name.

It was Leo, running over the sand dunes.

My face felt warm. I smiled again. "Hey, Leo. Why aren't you at the camp fire?"

Looking at Leo, I couldn't help but remember all the days I spent in bunker nine with him, reading him Greek stories, swapping prank stories, trying to top each other for the worse joke. Leo could always cheer me up with a good laugh, and hanging out with him in Bunker Nine were some of the best times I've spent at Camp.

My smile melted. I knew that one day it would come to an end; Leo and the rest would sail to New Rome to find Percy and the rest of the Seven so they could close the doors of death and defeat Gaea. I didn't expect that I'd be gone before that.

Leo wiped the sweat from his brow. "It took half a day, but I think I nailed it."

He pulled something from his tool belt (i.e. the fanny pack) and handed to me proudly. I stared dumbfoundly at the device in my hand.

"Oh, wow." I tried to sound enthused. "Thank you?"

He grinned. "I know. I'm a genius. I outdid myself this time."

"You made me a PKE meter? You think we'll run into any ghost?"

He gave me that wow-this-girl-can't-be-serious-look he gave me so often. "What? No—"

"It'll work on daemons, too right? Because I don't think ghost will be an issue for us."

"It's a—"

"Kaia!" Drew interrupted from the deck of the trireme. "Kiss your little boyfriend and hurry up! We're kind of on a quest here."

I glared up at her, my face burning. Don't drown her, Kai, I thought to myself. Don't drown her, don't drown her, don't drown her!

"That's my cue," I laughed nervously. "Um, Leo?"

"Yeah?"

Next, I did something so impulsive and bold you wouldn't believe it.

I hugged him.

Leo was so shocked, he was speechless (no easy task, mind you). I don't think I ever hugged him before.

I broke up hug and held eye contact with him for a second too long. Leo had really pretty eyes… don't you dare tell him I said that.

I cleared my throat and hefted my bag higher on my shoulder. "I'll see you later, Valdez." And I jogged off to the ship, not daring to look back at him.

* * *

The three of us talked long enough to decide that we'd take turns sailing the ship. I volunteered to go first since I liked being on the open seas. Plus, I was afraid to fall asleep again and dream.

Drew gave me and Clarisse a death glare and went down to the barracks for the night. I got the impression she would've charmspoke the two of us to jump off the ship and drown ourselves if she could, but she needed us for this quest. Besides, there was the pesky problem that I couldn't drown.

Clarisse stayed on deck with me for a while, sparing with a practice dummy. She hacked and slashed at it until its straw guts littered the deck. She swept the straw off to a pile before heading down to the barracks for the night. She nodded a farewell in my direction before disappearing below.

I never really talked much to Clarisse before. I don't really know what to think about her other than that she was kind of scary. I remembered the stories that Percy told me about her about dunking people's heads in toilets, tossing them into the lake, and other cliché nineties bully stuff, but I think she's mellowed out a bit since then. I've never seen Clarisse flush someone's head since I've been to camp, and Clarisse occasionally will break up a fight if they go too far— around the time the maiming starts.

We sailed along smoothly into the sea, the glow of the campfire dimmed and faded into the fog.

We've had practice fights against sea monsters on ship before at camp. The triremes at camp had magically automated oars, so we were taught to steer and work the sails manually, which I was always pretty good at.

Sailing was like second nature to me. If I relaxed and didn't think too hard (which was pretty easy for me), I knew what to do and when to do it. I knew how fast we were going and our exact coordinates at all time. I remember Percy telling me that children of Poseidon sometimes have perfect bearings at sea, which is great because otherwise I'd probably sail us straight to the North Pole.

Waves crashed and broke against the boat. I remembered how long it's been since I last surfed, Hayden was alive then. Maybe after this quest I could start surfing on the beach; the waves on there were always pretty epic.

That is if I didn't die on this quest.

My stomach dropped and I combed my fingers through my hair. Normal kids didn't have to worry about quest, I thought bitterly. They didn't have to worry about monsters, giants, and the end of the world. They didn't have to worry about dying because of some stupid prophecy.

I thought of my family, my friends, my life at Camp Half-Blood. I was happy, despite my past. I've built friendships, I've sharpened my skills. I've accepted that the crazy world of monsters and gods was just my reality, my new normal. I wanted to see my life through. I didn't want it to end anytime soon.

Don't dwell on the future, I told myself. No point in worrying about the inevitable. All I could do is make sure I lived long enough to stop the giant. Saving camp was the most important thing. Nothing mattered as long as my home was safe.

I repeating this mantra in my head over and over all night. I believed it. But at the same time…

"Wait!"

My eyes shot open. I whipped my head around, searching for the origin of the vaguely familiar voice. It sounded muffled, like someone was yelling into a pillow from a block away. I knew that there were no extras stowed away on the ship, so clearly I was hallucinating, which was always a plus.

"Y'know," I said out loud. "Maybe I _should_ sleep—"

The entire ship lurched violently to the side. I was thrown aside and sent barreling over the edge. I managed to twist midair and grab onto the ship just before plummeting into the water.

Beneath me I saw the vague shapes of tentacles under the water's surface. And they were coming straight for me.

I swore and pulled myself back on board just as Clarisse ran onto to the deck, spear in hand. Drew came afterwards, weaponless.

"What in Hades just happen?" Clarisse demanded.

Drew scowled at me accusingly. "Did you hit something?"

"Of course not! I—"

"Then what—"

The ship pitched to the side again, and all three of us were thrown across the deck.

Brown tentacles shot out of the water like an erupting gyser and wrapped around the ship. I felt the snapping of a thousand planks of wood and celestial bronze beneath me.

The water bubbled and the hideous, bulbous head of an octopus surfaced.

I never thought of octopuses (octopi?) as ugly until I saw a giant one up close. It was brown mottled with a shade of puke green. Its single angry goat-like eye bored into us. An octopus is basically a head connected to eight tentacle covered legs the shot ink and could crush your skull if it wanted to, and this monster clearly wanted to.

Clarisse wasted no time. She wielded her spear started stabbing at the sea monster's legs. I drew my sword right as a tentacle about as wide as I was shot right at me. I swiped my sword and the limb hit the deck, disintegrating into a clump of slimy kelp. The monster roared in pain, but didn't disintegrate. The tentacle started to bubble at the severed point and was slowly regrowing itself.

I swore and dodged another flying tentacle.

The ship sunk into the ocean as we fought. I knew that there was no way to save the ship at this point.

Drew somehow had her bow and arrows with her and was shooting two or three at a time with what would be deadly accuracy. A group of arrows shot clean through a tentacle, severing it from its body. It turned to kelp and hit the deck, splattering everywhere. Drew yelped when some touched her foot and jumped away. "Oh, gross!"

I frowned at her. "How 'bout you focus and—"

Before I could finish my sentence, a tentacle wrapped around me and I was hoisted straight into the air. I was so stunned I dropped my sword.

The octopus's grip constricted around me. I gasped for air, trying to blink back the black spots in my vision. I thought to myself that this was how I'd die. Not in a blaze of glory, but squeezed to death by a giant one eyed octopus.

At least my death would be unique. That's what they can put on my tombstone: _At least she died uniquely?_

I struggled in the monster's grasp, but the death grip became tighter and tighter the more I move. My bones burned. Air was slowly forced out of my lungs.

Clarisse and Drew were twenty, thirty feet below me, but they felt a thousand miles away. I could barely register Clarisse stabbing and slashing at the tentacles that were still wrapped around the trireme, or that the mast had splintered into a million pieces; the sails ripped to shreds.

Suddenly, the death grip around me tightened, and I nearly blacked out from the pain alone. Then, I was let go, plummeting towards the sea.

Before I could hit the surface, I summoned the water to catch me and send me back onto the deck with a graceful plop.

The octopus let out a screech that sounded like the sounds of nails on a chalkboard and car crashes had a colicky baby. An arrow was sticking out of its monstrous eye.

I scanned for my sword and swore when I spotted it go under with the other half of the ship. I needed to get to it before we all were eaten by a giant octopus and/or drowned to death.

Suddenly, I was grabbed by my collar and spun around. Clarisse stared down at me, her spear sparking with electricity.

"I need a wave," she demanded. "Can you do that, girl?"

It took less than a second to understand what she meant. I nodded, and Clarisse grunted, sprinted toward the edge of the ship.

As she jumped off, I willed the ocean to rise and harden to support Clarisse and shot the wave towards the octopus. As it got closer, Clarisse leapt like a panther at the monster and stabbed it in the dead center of its eye. Arcs of electricity shot through her spear and the Octopus wailed in pain.

Clarisse jumped toward the water, but I controlled the water to catch her and bring her back to the ship. The monsters turned and swam away (and I swear I could almost hear it whimpering in pain).

Clarisse hopped onto the deck just as the rest of the ship sank below the water. We would've gone under, too, but I willed the water to keep us afloat.

"That," I said to Clarisse, "was amazing."

She looked surprised at first, then grinned smugly. "Well, of course it was."

We watched, silently as the ship slowly went under. My knot formed in my stomach. Without a ship, we had to choice but to travel on land.

Drew groaned and hit the water in frustration, splashing all three of us in the process. "This is just great! Now what do we do?"

"You're in charged," Clarisse said mockingly. "What should we do, _leader_?"

I've never seen Drew look so overwhelmed. I _almost_ felt sorry for her. "Well... Let's get to shore."

"What about our things?"

"I'll get them," I volunteered. "I shouldn't take too long. You two stay here."

"Wouldn't dream of going anywhere," Drew said.

I dove under the water.

The ship was still slowly sinking to the bottom of the ocean floor, pulling wooden planks, the mast, and oars down with it. I swam after it, but was careful not to get too close. I didn't need a hunk of wood bonking me in the head and knocking me out.

I snatched up a lone drifting camouflage backpack that had escaped the wreckage when something flashed in the corner of my eye and caught my attention.

My sword! It was sticking hilt up in a sand dune. I swam for it and sheathed it to my waist. I exhaled a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

The ship had finally settled on the ocean floor. I made my way towards it, searching for our lost items. I slung Drew's pink bedazzled backpack over my shoulder, and was about to search some more for good measure when I spotted a dark floating blob heading straight for me.

Thinking it was the octopus back for more, I torpedoed myself back to the surface.

Drew shrieked when I surfaced, but I didn't have time to laugh. I handed the two of them their bags.

"We need to get to shore," I said. "The monster's back."

Before anyone could protest, I raised my arm and the water carried us back to land.

The three of us sat there for a while in stunned silence. Clarisse swore in both English and ancient Greek.

"This is freaking great!" she said. "We have no ship and now we're stuck on land."

"Blame Kaia for that one," Drew glared at me. "She's the one that drove us into a sea monster."

"Don't blame me!" I snapped. "That octopus came out of nowhere."

"You're a daughter of Poseidon, aren't you? Don't you have sea senses or something?"

I glowered at Drew, but my face heated up, embarrassed. Maybe Drew was right. We were at sea, my home turf. I could've driven away the monster before it destroyed our ship or avoided it all together, right? Was that a power Poseidon forgot to give me? Did he give it to Percy?

Snap out of it, I thought to myself. She's charmspeaking you.

But I still felt guilty.

Drew lost interest in me and looked around at our surroundings. I had landed us on a deserted stretch of beach next to a group of trees that led into the woods. The trees weren't as tall as the ones at Camp Half-Blood, but were twice as pack and probably held its fair share of monsters.

I looked to the sea, which was unnervingly calm. Despite myself, I remember the night Hayden and I were on the beach together, the Indus Worms that attacked…

My stomach felt like it was kicked repeatedly by Chun Li. I blinked back tears.

"We can't stay on the beach," I insisted. "W-we're sitting ducks out here."

"She right," Clarisse said. "We need a spot to sleep for tonight."

We looked at Drew. Her eyes darted around, as if searching for an answer. "Fine. Let's go now, before it gets any worse."

As if on cue, thunder cracked, and it started to drizzle.

I grimaced at sky. "That's not funny."


	3. Chapter 3 - I Play Tag with a Cannibal

"T-this is just great," Drew grumbled through chattering teeth. "We have no boat and now we're stuck on land."

"Thanks for the recap, Drew," I said. "I completely forgot what happened an hour ago."

"Oh, shut up you little—"

A chill breezed through and shut Drew up.

The three of us trudged forward in the woods. I was in the middle, acting as a barrier between the two. The rain came down harder every minute, preventing Drew and Clarisse from getting dry. My bag, which miraculously, or magically (miramagically?), stayed on my back during the octopus fiasco and was still dry. I guessed that that was Lou Ellen's doing, or anything touching me works just remain dry by proximity. I never really understood the extent of my amazing staying dry abilities.

Another cold gust hit us, making me wish I'd brought a jacket. Drew and Clarisse shivered in unison.

Every owl hoot and twig snap made me jump. My hand never strayed too far from my sword at my hip. A lot of nasty monsters could be lurking in the woods, prowling around for a midnight snack.

I tried to think of things to cheer myself up to distract myself from the freezing rain, and the bones in my legs that were transforming into jelly, and the miserable feeling that suffocated me: Pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. Ancient cartoons of the nineteen seventies. Leo's laughter.

Drew's moping wasn't helping the mood. "Ug. My hair is completely ruined now," she whined.

"The true tragedy of our situation," I muttered.

Drew scowled at me. " _Some_ of us actually care about our appearance. Excuse me for not wanting my hair to look like seaweed."

I opened my mouth to say something really slick about her possible hair extensions when Clarisse said, "Are we gonna walk all night or do you know where you're going, Tanaka?"

"Well..." Drew frowned and glanced around the woods, biting her lip. "We need to find a place to rest."

"And where should we do that? The middle of the woods?"

"No! I meant... we should…ugh!" she stomped her foot and huffed in frustration. "I can't think."

"I'm just shocked," I said.

Clarisse scoffed. "Ridiculous. From now on, I'm leading this quest."

"What?" Drew stomped around me to face Clarisse. "This is _my_ quest. You can't just take it from me!"

"You don't know what you're doing! Following you is going to get us killed."

"And you'd know all about getting someone killed, wouldn't you Clarisse?"

Clarisse glared at Drew so harshly I swear I saw fire in her eyes. "What was that, you little punk?"

She took a step forward, preparing to draw her spear. Drew stood her down, completely unfazed, like she was ready to take Clarisse on.

I don't know who was the most insane: Drew, Clarisse, or me as I stepped back in between the two of them. "Come on, guys! Knock it off."

I didn't know what was going on between those two or why they obviously hated each other, even before today. I definitely did _not_ want to be in the middle of them if they started going at each other. Drew was admittedly a pretty good archer, and I've seen Clarisse in action with her spear. I didn't really want to become a Kai kabob.

"Look," I said." We're all tired and cold. Let's just find a town with a motel or something. I brought some mortal money we can use."

The two of them looked at me like I was their new target. I gulped. Then they both turned their backs to each other.

Drew crossed her arms. "Fine."

"Whatever," Clarisse mumbled.

We walked along in silence.

Eventually, the woods dwindled and opened up to a small town. This town couldn't possibly have more than a few hundred living residents. Even at the mouth of the town, with most of it shrouded in mist (of the non-magical variety), I could tell how small the town was.

A single road divided the town in half. Small-scaled, colonial style house sat on either side of the road, giving way to larger, fancier mansions. Deeper into the town, we reached a few businesses, shops, and restaurants. The mist was so thick that I could cut it with my sword.

The streets were completely dead. No pedestrians, vagrants, or rodents going through the trash. No talking, shouting, or laughter. No music. The only sign of life in this town was the occasional light left on in a house. The only sound was the pitter-patter of rain on asphalt.

Even at the dead of night, there were always people, sound, and light in New York. This place was so un-New Yorkish that it made my skin crawl like I was covered in hundred of tiny Myrmekes.

I rubbed my arms and sighed. My breath turned to mist in the chilled air. "Oh, boy. We made it to Silent Hill."

Drew rolled her eyes, muttering something about me being a loser under her breath.

Clarisse stopped dead in her tracks and I nearly ran into her. "Look," she said.

She pointed at a dilapidated looking building at the end of the town. A gate surrounded the premises. A vacant pole sat tilted on a yellowing yard.

"A school," I said, unimpressed.

"A place where we can sleep tonight," she corrected me. "It's abandoned. No one will care if we spend the night."

Not that anyone lives here _to_ be bothered, I thought.

Drew sighed. "Beats sleeping in the streets."

As we approached the rundown building, I spotted a sign that had fallen down. It's probably been down there for years with how faded it looked, but I managed to make out what it said after a while: Northsouth middle school.

Up close, the school looked more like a prison than a school—which was quite fitting, if you ask me—with a faded brick exterior and bars on the windows. The wooden planks used to board the school were so rotted and brittle that breaking them was a snap.

Clarisse and I hopped the fence easily. Drew climbed the gate with all the gracefulness of a camel and landed on her butt. Clarisse didn't even need to pick the lock of the large black doors; the doors just swung open.

"Wait, so it wasn't even locked?" Drew asked incredulously.

"Who'd want to break into a school?" I asked as I headed in, the other two behind me.

The school was obviously closed for a while now. I couldn't see much in the dark, but everything smelled of mold, dust, and dying dreams. Everything was covered in an inch of dust. Drew walked right into a cobweb and screamed bloody murder, but I was too exhausted to laugh.

Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed flags from different countries were hanging from the ceiling above us. I was able to point out a couple; Germany, Japan, Egypt, and a few others.

The front door of the school opened up to a long corridor that ended at another set of doors. To the right, passed a set of rotting lockers, there was a spiral staircase that led to a second floor. The second floor hovered over us like a balcony, and I morosely wondered if anyone had ever jumped off.

To the left were empty trophy cases and blank walls with the words "Teacher of the Month" painted above where pictures once hung.

An uncomfortable shiver ran down my spine. This building felt wrong. I got the feeling that we shouldn't be here.

I was never a fan of schools, but this place put me on edge. I could easily imagine myself attending this school; meeting up with friends, getting lost on my first day of school, getting written up for running in the halls. There was this sad aura of days gone by that struck a chord with me, and reminded me of my old life in the mortal world. Longing made my chest ache.

To the left, there was a cafeteria with large windows facing the hall. We decided that's where we'd stay the night. The cafeteria was about the size of the dining pavilion back home. Some of the tables were left looked as if they were smashed apart by a giant fist. Maybe they tried to remove the tables but eventually decided to give up for whatever reason.

"Perfect," Clarisse declared. "Fischer, hack up the broken tables for firewood."

I did, although hesitantly. I couldn't help but remember the last time I had started a fire at school, but that's a different story.

We gathered the scraps into the middle of the floor and Clarisse zapped them aflame with a blast from her spear and got a nice warm fire going.

I stared at the flames and I started to relax. I felt a twinge of pain, thinking about camp. Everyone would be asleep in their warm bed, except Leo, who would be scribbling down ideas on how to make the Argo II better.

And except me, who'd sneak out of her cabin to help him out, but after how she'd complained that he needed more sleep.

Clarisse and Drew laid their wet clothes on a table to dry as I told them Annabeth's idea of contacting the party ponies to help us fight the giant's army.

Clarisse smirked like she really liked the idea. "Not a bad idea. What better way to defeat an army than with an army of our own?"

Drew pursed her lips and she tried drying her hair with a stash of napkins she found. After a while, she said, "I'll have the best chance convincing them to fight with us. We can I.M. them in the morning when there's more light."

After a moment, Clarisse opted to check the kitchen to see if any food was left. In about five minutes, she came back with a handful of goods.

"Oh, joy," Drew said dryly as Clarisse plopped the food into a pile. "Dried rations and knock off Poptarts that'll kill us. Yum."

"Sorry, Princess," Clarisse said. "But that's all we could find."

Honestly, I wasn't too happy about the find, either. "You think that stuff is safe to eat?"

"I'm sure. I checked the expiration dates." She tore open a bag of beef jerky. "No one's been in this school for ages, but some of the utilities still work, and the food seems pretty fresh. Kids in the town must come here to hang out."

It made sense, so I didn't question it.

We all sat silently around our bonfire. Drew, finally sick of our presence, scooted as far as she could without going too far from the fire and closed her eyes.

Through a mouthful of jerky, Clarisse offered to take first watch.

I, however, couldn't sleep. It was silly, but I felt like I couldn't turn my back on this place. I laid on my side and stared at the crackling fire for what felt like hours. Suddenly, I got up. "I'm gonna go find something to keep the fire going. Maybe there're some old books left here."

Drew opened an eye and looked at me. "Book burning? Seriously?"

"Hey, if they wanted their books they would've taken them by now. But if it makes you feel better, I'll try to find some with nice photos of current president Millard Fillmore."

Drew scoffed and went back to sleep.

I left the cafeteria and went exploring. I didn't have to roam long, though, because there was a library right across the hall. Thankfully, the door was missing.

Walking through the library, I couldn't help but think about when I used to go to school and how I actually missed it from time to time. I missed passing notes in class, goofing off with my friends when we should've been studying, and drawing inappropriate things on the smart boards behind the teachers' backs.

These feelings weren't anything new to me. I've always missed parts of my old normal mortal life when everything was simple, I didn't have to worry about being killed by monsters, and Hayden was…was still alive.

But whenever these feelings started to creep up, I managed to push them back down. That's how I dealt with my bitter feelings towards being a demigod, and it had always worked, but it was harder to do every time.

I passed a clock that still worked that read three o'clock.

Were we really traveling that long? We left around eight or nine at night and only sailed for what felt like about an hour or so. The clock probably wasn't adjusted for daylights savings, but still, having ADHD will muck up your perception of time big time.

I found a box with a few books towards the back. There were some old magazines dated sometime around the early 2000's—I guess that's around the time this school closed down— and a few books that I was forced to read for school and gathered them right up. Oh, how fun these will be to burn.

 _CRASH!_

I froze. There was a terrible screamed that sounded like Drew followed by Clarisse yelling swears and the zapping of electricity. I dropped the stack and ran back towards the cafeteria.

What I saw made my stomach dropped.

Clarisse was up against a balding Cyclops that was at least fifteen feet tall. She was doing a pretty good job dodging his attacks for someone who was wet and exhausted at.

Drew wasn't so lucky. She lay motionless off to the side.

I snuck in while his back was turned and went to check on Drew. She wasn't dead, thank the gods, just bruised and dazed. I dragged her to a corner of the room so she'd hopefully be out of the line of danger.

Our stuff was scattered, our fire squashed. I spotted my shield across the room past Clarisse and the monster. I made a mad dash for it.

In my peripheral, I caught Clarisse roll under the Cyclops's foot and shoot him in the rear with an arc of electricity. He lurched forward.

"GAH! He snarled.

"Want some more, Lardo?" she taunted. "Bring it!"

The Cyclops growled and swatted at Clarisse again. She jumped. I grabbed my shield just as the Cyclops got a lucky hit in and sent Clarisse flying towards the wall. She crumbled to a heap on the floor. The Cyclops laughed gleefully.

"Hey!" I whipped my shield at him and it hit him in the back of the head with a satisfying _THWACK_. The monster snapped his head towards me, his bloodshot eye glaring at me with utmost hate.

I made an undignified noise. "Hi."

"Your projectiles are no match for me!" he roared and charged for me.

"Nope." I darted out of the cafeteria. I skidded to a stop in front of the staircase and sprinted up, my footsteps synchronized with my galloping heart beat.

I heard the smashing of glass below me and stupidly looked down. The Cyclops had burst through the glass walls and was bounding up the stairs.

On the second floor were a row of busted lockers, two entrances into the hall, and a water fountain at both ends of the hall. Nowhere for me to go. I could run, but I couldn't go as fast as tired as I felt. Hiding was pointless because even if I succeeded, the Cyclops would just eat Drew and Clarisse. I couldn't let him hurt them. I had to end it as soon as possible.

I was ready to draw my sword and stand my ground when I spotted a fire extinguisher on the floor.

The monster appeared down the hall, crouching slightly so his head wouldn't hit the ceiling. I got my first good look at him. His face looked liked it was smashed in so he looked like Quasimodo, but instead of adorably ugly he was just ugly ugly. Several arrows stuck out of his shoulders and stomach.

He wore grungy, ripped jeans and multiple eye-gougingly hideous flannel shirts layered on top of each other. At least he wasn't sporting a neon windbreaker and jinco jeans. Horrible times, those nineties.

Oh, gods. A few hours near Drew and I was starting to sound like her.

The monster glowered at me. He snapped an arrow in his shoulder and raced towards me.

I snatched the fire extinguisher and faced the monster. "Hey, ugly!"

The Cyclops stopped in his tracks ten feet away. He looked genuinely hurt. "Me?"

"Uh, yeah you. Eat this!" I aimed the nozzle at the monster, prayed that it worked, and throttled the handle. Nothing.

The Cyclops bellowed and stalked towards me. "Stupid girl! What—"

I swore and pulled the safety pin in the handle. I clenched the handle and shot the foam right into the Cyclops's massive eye.

He screamed in pain and reeled back, rubbing his eye. I drew my blade and ran at him, my sword point aimed right at his gut.

I was an inch away when, at the last second, the monster dodged my attack. My sword managed to slice into the side of his thigh, causing him to jerk. He punted me in the back and send me sailing across the hall. My sword flew out of my hand and clatter somewhere out of my site.

The filthy floor greeted me with a thud as I slid into the lockers. My arm ached. My head throbbed. My vision blurred so it looked like three Cyclopes were barreling at me.

I scrambled up. I dove towards my sword, trying to slip between the monster's legs, but I was too slow. He scooped me up like a slow kickball and dangled me by the legs. He glared at me with a bloodshot eye.

"Finally!" He cried. He breath hit me like the smell of rotten eggs caught in a hot summer breeze. "Finally, I caught one."

"That's great, buddy," I said. "Now put me down and let's start over. I'll even let you count to ten."

He nodded enthusiastically and bent to put me down before the realization dawned on him and he snapped back up. "Nice try!" He shook me and tightened his fist. "No take backs. That mean girl took my snacks and I'm hungry. Besides, that goes against the job."

I froze, afraid that if I struggled anymore, the Cyclops would crush my legs. My backpack, which I had almost forgotten about, was slipping down my back and arms, threatening to fall. "What job?"

"My job from Gaea," he said proudly. "She lets me stay here to devour puny humans."

I doubted that was Gaea's real motivation. He's probably one of the dozens of monsters benefitting from Gaia's control of the doors of death. He would've eaten me regardless But I decided to play along and buy myself some time.

"Really now?" I said, trying my hardest to sound impressed. "Direct orders straight from Gaea herself? She must think highly of you."

He grinned. "I'm the biggest and baddest of all Northsouth Cyclopes."

"Clearly. Must be a lot of responsibility. Probably gets very tiring."

He shifted on his feet."Well... a little."

"Don't you think you deserve a break?"

"Maybe." He rubbed his greasy chin with his free hand, deep in thought. I was beginning to feel hopeful that maybe I had a way out of this when he frowned and shook his head. "No. This is good. Besides, I don't have it nearly as bad those monsters on that island."

I blinked. "An island of monsters? What kind? Do you know where it is?"

"Uh huh. It's—" he shook his head and laughed. "Ohoho. Naughty girl, trying to learn my secrets. I think I'll eat you know."

I went into a panic as the Cyclops unhinged his jaw to eat me. I was all out of options. No sword, no shield. My backpack wasn't gonna do me any good in this position.

Wait.

My backpack.

I shimmied and wiggled around, trying to lower my backpack enough to grab it.

 _Just a little more._

The Cyclops chuckled. "No use in squirming, little girl. I—"

 _Got it!_

I gripped the handles of my backpack and swung as hard as I could at his eye. He howled in pain and held his eye, dropping me in the process.

I rose and sprinted towards my sword. Once my hand was wrapped around the familiar handle, I leapt towards the monster, slashing him across the legs and stabbing him in the back.

Normally, that would've taken a monster out. But almost as quickly as I made the wounds, they began to heal.

He turned to towards me, rage glowing in his damaged eye. He swung his meaty fist right at me. I jumped back and ran, the Cyclops's footsteps pounding behind me.

I had no game plan. I couldn't kill the monster fast enough, and sooner or later he was going to catch up to me again, and I doubt that he'd be nearly as chatty this time.

I was about ten feet away from the stairs when I spotted the fountain at the end of the hall. I rushed towards it and chopped it off of the wall. Water trickled down the new wound in the wall.

 _Pleasepleaseplease._

I shot my arm out at the Cyclops, willing the water to mimic my movement. Smelly water shot out of the pipes like a rocket, hitting the monster in the face and chest with enough force to make him stagger back and towards the edge of the balcony.

Suddenly, he convulsed violently. Bolts of electricity pulsed around him. I risked a glanced to the first floor. Clarisse was sending bolts of lightning the Cyclops's way, looking incredibly pissed.

"No!" The Cyclops wailed in pain. "Mean half-bloods."

My supply of water was slowing down. I needed to end this now. I readied my sword and charged at the monster, primed to strike. I ran my sword clean through the monster's gut. He pitched backwards, his weight sending him over the balcony, and me with him.

The half second drop felt ten times as long. I yanked my sword from the Cyclops's belly just as he grabbed at me, a last-ditch effort to inflict some damaged.

As soon as we hit the floor, the body of the monster exploded into dust from the impact. The force from the explosion helped cushioned my landing. I rolled to the side and stood on shaky legs.

I spat monster dust out of my mouth. "Aw, gross!"

Clarisse grinned and clapped me on the back. "Quite impressive there, girl."

"I don't feel impressive," I said, wiping yellow dust from my shirt.

"No fair!" A gargled voice said beneath us. The sand that was once the monster were gradually collecting together. The Cyclops's face was lumpy and deformed (not much different than before, actually). It grew and reshaped itself, like a sandcastle falling in reverse. "No fair! Two against one—"

Clarisse combat boot dropped on to the monster's half-formed face, breaking his essence apart. "How the heck are we supposed to keep him from reforming."

I stared down at the monster dust distastefully. "I have a gross idea."

* * *

Clarisse and I hunted around the school until we found the janitor's closet. We grabbed the vacuum, collected all the monster sand, and proceeded to empty his remains in the nearby toilet, which thankfully still worked.

When we returned to the cafeteria, Drew was sitting up. She looked a little stunned but was otherwise okay.

I went to grab Drew's bow while Clarisse handed her a piece of ambrosia. Even though Clarisse hated Drew, she wasn't the type to neglect her teammates in need.

I never saw Drew's bow up close before. It was golden like the bows the Apollo kids had. Up close, I noticed the intricate swirling sun patterns that decorated the upper and lower limbs of the bow. "Property of Lee Fletcher" was carved elegantly on the inside. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Are you okay?" I asked, handing her the bow.

She smiled without an ounce of humor. "Yeah. I'm on a stupid quest getting attacked by stupid monsters. I'm just peachy."

"Glad to see that nothing gets you down."

She snatched her bow from me a little too quickly. She sighed as it morphed back into one of her bangles. "Thanks, or whatever."

I shrugged, surprised to even get a halfhearted thanks out of her.

I half-heartily wondered why she seemed so defensive about her bow. Most campers had hand-me-down weapons so I didn't think it was a big deal, but Drew acted like she was embarrassed of it.

Drew took her knapsack, curled up away from the two of us, and went back to sleep.

Clarisse and I spent about ten minutes rebuilding the fire and straightening up the mess the Cyclops made.

I yawned. "I'll take watch."

"Oh no, girl," Clarisse said. She steered me down into a sitting position, which was pretty easy since my leg bones were the consistency of cooked noodles. "You just took down a Cyclops. I'll take first watch."

"You killed a giant octopus." I pointed out. "And were thrown into a wall."

Clarisse waved her hand like it was no big deal. "I slept already. You look like the dead."

"I look awesome."

"Sleep. Now."

I yawned again and decided to obey. I curled up on the floor, my backpack under my head, and was out almost instantly.


End file.
